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Samsung‘s next-gen flagship smartphones are just about two months away now. The Galaxy S24 series will arrive in January 2024, with the company releasing three models. As usual, the Ultra model will top the line, offering industry-leading cameras and more. Leaks have already revealed the phone’s camera setup. A noted industry insider has now detailed the new 5x optical zoom camera for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 5x zoom camera specs revealed
If you’re familiar with Samsung’s Ultra flagships, you may be aware that those phones have featured two telephoto cameras for the past few years. The Korean firm included one lens with 3x optical zoom and the other with 10x optical zoom. In an unexpected change, it is removing the latter next year and replacing it with a 5x lens. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will still feature two telephoto cameras but with 3x and 5x optical zoom capabilities.
Previous leaks have revealed that the new lens will be a 50MP sensor, which should mean higher resolution zoom photos (the 10x lens on the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a 10MP sensor). It is Sony’s IMX854 sensor featuring 0.7µm pixels. With an optical format of 1/2.52 inches, the new sensor is slightly bigger. The 2023 Ultra model’s 10x zoom camera has a 1/3.2-inch optical format with 1.12μm pixels.
Despite missing a 10x zoom lens, industry insiders believe Samsung will be able to maintain the same image quality at zoom levels higher than 5x thanks to the newer sensor and software processing. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to keep the 100x hybrid zoom as well. On top of this, the phone may bring improvements in some other areas, like seamless 4K video recording at higher frame rates with all rear cameras.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra may also debut Samsung’s ISOCELL Zoom Anyplace system. It is a revolutionary zoom tech for 200MP cameras. It can automatically track and zoom in on a selected subject as it moves around. Your phone will simultaneously capture the zoomed footage and the full field of view. You can even see both footage on the screen. The new tech also maintains 4K video resolution up to 4x zoom and cuts the processing time by up to 50 percent.
The 2024 Samsung flagships may go official on January 17
Samsung has yet to confirm the launch date for the Galaxy S24 series. It isn’t time for the official media invites. However, the Korean media recently reported that the company has already finalized the date. It plans to unveil the 2024 flagships on January 17, 2024. While Samsung’s last Galaxy Unpacked event happened in South Korea, the company is going back to the US for the Galaxy S24 launch. Stay tuned for the official confirmation.